Weft replenishing mechanism for oval bobbins



27, 1938. R. G. TURNER I WEFT REPLENISHING MECHANISM FOR OVAL BOBBI'NS Fild Aug. 26, 1936 I fin Patented Dec. 27, 1938 PATENT OFFICE WEFT REPLENISHING MECHANISM FOR OVAL BOBBINS Richard Greenleaf Turner, Worcester, Mass, as-

signor to Grompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 26, 1936, Serial No. 97,967

10 Claims.

It has been common practice for many years to transfer bobbins the weft packages of which are cylindrical and circular in cross section, mechanisms having been devised to transfer such bobbins both in single and multicolor types of looms. Because of the fact that the horizontal dimension of the shed is greater than the vertical dimension it is possible to weave with a shuttle wider than those heretofore employed and to provide the shuttle with a bobbin the vertical diameter of which is substantially the same as that of the previously used circular bobbins, but the horizontal diameter of which is considerably greater than that formerly used. The weft in such a shuttle is wound on a bobbin the cross-section of the barrel of which has a horizontal dimension greater than its vertical diameter and in order that the bobbin may be 'held so that its major cross section dimension will not extend below the shuttle provision must be made to insert it into the shuttle with the long axis horizontal.

In the transfer mechanisms heretofore employed there has been no'need for placing the bobbin in any particular angular position relatively to the shed and the transferrer arms have been provided with a spool having a concave surface substantially arcuate in transverse cross section for engagement with the bobbin being inserted into the shuttle. Furthermore, it is common practice to employ a pivoted transferrer arm moving about an axis in front of the lay so that downward movement of the arm and "spoon changes the angular relation of these parts with respect to a horizontal plane. Under prior practice this condition was immaterial but when applied to a magazine operating with oval bobbins it is necessary to take into account the change of angular relation on the part of the transferrer arm during transfer.

It is animportant object of my present invention to provide a transferrer arm and magazine so constructed that the reserve bobbins are held with the major transverse weft axis oblique with respect to a horizontal plane, the obliquity bearing a definite relation to and being preferably the same as the angle through which the transferrer arm moves. In carrying my present 56 invention into efiect I provide the spoon of the transferrer arm with a substantially flat surface Which is inclined downwardly and forwardly at such an angle that as transfer is completed said surface becomes horizontal. In this way the oval bob-bin is inserted into the shuttle in the proper position.

It is a further object of my present invention to provide an improved form of yielding bobbin tip support so constructed as to maintain the bobbin in the magazine with its major transverse axis tilted so that when the bobbins are presented to the transfer arm they will be in the desired position;

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanyingdrawing, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a vertical transverse section through a weft magazine and lay having the bobbins and transferrer arm arranged and constructed according to my present invention,

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the magazine and adjacent lay and on a scale somewhat smaller than that shownin Fig. 1, part of the structure being'in section,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to the lower part of Fig. 2. onan enlarged scale, parts being .in section, v

Fig. 4 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1 but with the transferrer arm shown at the end of its transferring stroke, and

Fig. 5 is a detailed vertical section on line 55 of Fig. 3. v I

Referring to the drawing, the loom frame l supports a magazine M over the lay L. The latter is provided with a slot II through which exhausted bobbins may be expelled from a shuttle S located in a shuttle box l2. The shuttle has spring clips l3 which holdthe circular rings 14 of the bobbin butt l formed at one end of the bobbin B. The horizontal transverse axis of the barrel or weft carrying part of the bobbin l6 and tip I1 is elongated, as shown clearly in Figs. 1, 4 and The magazine comprises a fixed housing 20 supporting a stud 2| on which is rotatably mounted the hub- 22 of a rotary bobbin supporting disk 23 having sockets 24 to receive the rounded ends of the bobbin butts IS. A ratchet 25 is rigid with thedisk. 23. and cooperates with a feed pawl 26 in well-known manner to effect anadvance. of the.disk.23 in a clockwise direcoperation of. the loom. A holding pawl 21 may also be provided to retain the magazine in cor- A rect angular position for transfer.

A second or bobbin tip supporting disk 39 is secured to the hub 22 and rotates therewith and is provided with a series of slots 3i for each of which there is provided a yielding tip support 32. The disk 3% has a plurality of lugs 33 to receive the complementarily formed ends 34 of the sup ports 32, and each of the latter is urged inwardly or toward the bobbin by a compression spring 35. Inward motion of the support 32 may be limited by a rib 36 on the disk St. A thread holder 31 may rotate with the disks. The matter thus far described is of common construction and of itself forms no part of my present invention.

'The transferrer arm 40 is pivoted about a stud 4i fixed to the magazine frame, and has a depending arm G2 on which is pivoted a transferrer latch 43 to engage a bunter it projecting forwardly from the lay L. Control mechanism for the latch as is omitted from the drawing but is well understood and when a transfer operation is called the latch 43 will be raised into the path of the bunter it to cause'downwardmotion of the transferrer arm as the lay advances. That part of the transferrer arm thus far described is also old and of itself forms'no part of my present invention, the transferrer arm carrying the previously'described feed pawl 26.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide each of the supports 32 with a pocket having therearound a rib 5| the upper part'52 of which is inclined with respect to a horizontal line when the associated support arrives under the transferrer arm. The pocket is so constructed as to receive the flattened tip end of the bobbin and the vertical surface 53 of the pocket is inclined slightly inwardly so as to holdthe' bobbin tip H in place, see Fig; 3. This inclined surface may if desired be formed as though generated by a line rotating about the transferrer stud 4| and moving inwardly toward the disk 23 as it descends. Such a construction will favor the correct motion on the part of the bobbins as they are transferred. The front wall 55 of the pocket rib 55 is curved to accommodate the arcuatemotion of the bobbin during transfer.

The magazine is supplied with a plurality of the bobbins B and it will be noted that since their major transverse axes are oblique with respect shuttle.

The bobbin butt I5 is preferably circular in cross section so that the transferrer arm heel 63 which engages the butt end of the bobbin may be concave on the underside thereof, as is usual. A spoon 6! is provided with a flat under surface 62 which is inclined downwardly and forwardly as indicated in Fig. 1 when the transferrer arm is in itsnormal raised position. The

angle" between this surface 62 anda horizontal line is preferably the same as that through which the transferrer arm swings during a transfer operation. The spoon Bl may have a shank 63 by which it is attached to the transferrer arm 40 and the surface 621s adapted for engagement with the upper flattened weft area 65 of the bobbin being transferred. A weft detector F is indicated in Fig. 1 and acts to indicate exhaustion of weft and call a transfer operation of the loom.

In operation, when a transfer iscalled, the

transfer arm will descend, the heel engaging the butt of the bobbin and the surface 62 of the spoon engaging the upper surface 65 of the bobbin immediately thereunder. As the lay advances the transferrer arm moves about the stud M as a center and the angular position of the surface 62 approaches the'horizontal and at the end of the transferring stroke surface 62 will be substantially horizontal, as in Fig. 4.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided means whereby an oval bobbin can be correctly transferred into a shuttle. This result is achieved by having the major transverse axis of the bob-bin barrel oblique at the start of the transfer motion, the obliquitybeing sufficient to cause the bobbin to assume a correct horizontal position'whenin the shuttle. The angle which the said majoraxis sustains to a horizontal'line' may be substantially the same as that through which the transferrer arm swings.

formed as to maintain the bobbins in correct angular position and the method of generating the bottom of the support pocket which remains in contactiwith the'bobbin tip throughout the first part of the downward motion of the bobbin further assists in correct delivery of the bobbin' a made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit'and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what l'claim is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom operating with oval bobbins having a mass of weft with a major horizontal transverse dimension greater than the vertical transverse dimension thereof and having a shuttle, a magazine for reserve oval bobbins, a transferrer arm to move a bobbin from the magazine into the shuttle, means in the magazine to hold areserve bobbin in transfer position in'the magazine with the major transverse axis thereof inclined'with respect to a horizontal plane, and means on the transferrer arm having a surface also inclined with respect to a horizontal plane to engage the upper part of the weft of a reserve bobbin, the inclination being such that when the bobbin and last named means reach their lowest position the said major axis of the bobbin and the surface of the last named means will be substantially horizontal.

2. In a weft replenishing loom operating with 7 oval bobbins having a mass of weft with a horizontal transverse dimension greater than the vertical transverse dimension and having a shuttle, a magazine for reserve oval bobbins, a

transferrer arm to move a bobbin from'the magazine into the shuttle, means defining an axis about which the transferrer arm swings, means forming part of the magazine to present a reserve bobbin in position for transfer with the major transverse axis thereof inclined down- It will further be seen that the bobbin tip supports are so wardly and toward said axis, and a spoon on the transferrer arm having a surface inclined downwardly and toward said axis to engage the upper flattened. surface of the weft of a reserve bobbin to be transferred, the inclination of said axis of the bobbin and said surface of the spoon being such that at the end of the transfer stroke said axis and surface will be substantially horizontal due to angular movement about said axis.

3. In a weft replenishing loom operating with oval bobbins having a mass of weft with a horizontal transverse dimension greater than the vertical transverse dimension and having a shuttle and lay, a magazine for reserve oval bobbins, a transferrer arm to move a bobbin from the magazine into the shuttle, means defining an axis about which the transferrer arm swings, means to connect the lay and transferrer arm to cause the latter to move through a given angle.

to effect transfer, means to hold a reserve bobbin in position for transfer with the major transverse axis thereof inclined with respect to a horizontal plane by an amount equal substantially to said angle, and a spoon on the transferrer arm having a surface at substantially said given angle with respect to a horizontal plane to engage the upper surface of the weft of a reserve bobbin being transferred, the transferrer arm when swinging though said angle about the axis thereof causing said surface toturn the bobbin about the longitudinal axis thereof through substantially said given angles and cause the aforesaid transverse axis of the bobbin to be horizontal at the end of the transfer stroke.

4. In a weft'replenishing loom having a shuttle to be replenished, a pivoted transferrer arm movable through a given angle to effect replenishment of the shuttle, an oval bobbin having a mass of weft with one transverse dimension greater than the other, means to hold the bobbin in transfer position with said one greater transverse dimension at an angle with respect to the horizontal plane substantially equal to the aforesaid angle through which the transferre'r arm moves, and means on the transferrer arm to extend transversely across the upper surface of a bobbin to be transferred and engage the weft and causemovement of the bobbin about the longitudinal axis thereof through an angle substantially equal to said given angle between the beginning and the ending of the transfer stroke.

5. In a weft replenishing loom operating with oval bobbins having a mass of weft with a horizontal transverse axis greater than the vertical transverse axis, a pivoted transferrer arm to swing through a given angle to effect transfer, a shuttle to receive a reserve bobbin, means to present a reserve bobbin into transfer position for engagement with the transferrer arm so that the greater transverse axis of said bobbin is inclined with respect to the final position which said bobbin is to sustain to the shuttle by the aforesaid angle, and means carried by the transferrer arm to engage the weft and prevent substantially relative angular motion between the transferrer arm and said greater transverse axis of the bobbin during transfer.

6. In a weft replenishing loom operating with oval bobbins having a major horizontal transverse axis greater than the vertical transverse axis, a pivoted transferrer arm having a bobbin engaging surface inclined with respect to the horizontal at the beginning of a transferring operation, said surface changing its angle with respect to a horizontal plane when the transferrer arm moves about its axis during the transferring operation, andmeans to present a reserve oval bobbin in transfer position with the major transverse axis thereof inclined with respect to a horizontal plane by an amount substantially the same as the inclination of said surface, the inclination of said surface and major axis being such that at the end of the transferring stroke said major axisis substantially horizontal.

7. In a weft replenishing loom operating with oval bobbins having a weft mass with a major transverse horizontal axis which is greater than the vertical transverse axis, a shuttle to receive a reserve oval bobbin, a transferrer arm, a pivot about which the transferrer arm swings during transfer, means on the transferrer arm to engage the flattened part of the weft to resist rotation of the bobbin being transferred about the longitudinal axis thereof relatively to the transferrer arm during transfer, and means to hold a reserve bobbin in transfer position with the major transverse axis thereof inclined at such an angle that as the transferrer arm reaches the end of the transfer stroke after moving through a given angular distance the major transverse axis of the bobbin will be substantially horizontal.

8. In a weft replenishing loom, a reserve weft magazine operating withoval bobbins each having a barrel and tip with a major horizontal transverse axis greater than the vertical transverse axis thereof, a yielding support for the tip forming part of the magazine and having an inclined surface to hold and position a reserve oval bobbin in transfer position with its major transverse axis inclined with respect to the horizontal, and a transferrer arm being moved through a given angle to effect transfer, the angle between a horizontal plane and said surface of the support being substantially the same as said given angle. I

9. In a weft replenishing loom, a reserve weft magazine operating with oval bobbins each having a barrel and tip with a major horizontal transverse axis greater than the vertical transverse axis thereof, a pivoted transferrer arm moving through a given angle to effect transfer, a yielding support for the tip of the reserve bobbin to be transferred, said support having a pocket for the tip end of the bobbin and the top of the pocket being formed to position a bobbin in transfer position with the major transverse axis thereof an-gularly disposed with respect to a horizontal plane at an angle substantially the same as said given angle through which the transferrer arm moves.

10. In a weft replenishing loom, a reserve weft magazine operating with oval bobbins each having a barrel and tip with a major horizontal transverse axis greater than the vertical transverse axis thereof, a pivoted transferrer arm moving through a given angle to effect transfer, a yieldable support for the tip of the reserve bobbin to be transferred, said support having a pocket for the tip end of the bobbin and the top of the pocket being formed to position a bobbin in transfer position with the major transverse horizontal axis thereof angularly disposed with respect to a horizontal plane at an angle substantially the same as said given angle through which the transferrer arm moves, the side of the pocket being generated by a line substantially parallel to the top of the pocket and moving about the axis of the transferrer arm.

RICHARD GREENLEAF TURNER. 

